1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for signal transmission between, for example, semiconductor integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a voltage-mode circuit employing a single source follower is known as a signal transmission circuit having low power consumption and a low amplitude (see JP No. 6-45547 A).
There is another conventional technique in which an output buffer circuit is composed of two N-channel MOS transistors constituting a push-pull structure, and a NOR circuit which feeds an output signal back to a pull-up transistor so as to obtain an output signal having a low amplitude and a high speed (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,415).
Also, there is a known technique of adding an edge emphasis circuit to a high-speed voltage-mode differential output driver (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,670).
In the conventional circuit employing a single source follower, when a logical high voltage (Hi voltage) is transmitted, the gate-source voltage of an N-channel MOS transistor included in the source follower decreases to the threshold voltage of the N-channel MOS transistor, disadvantageously resulting in a reduction in drive performance and a reduction in transmission rate.